Process for providing a finished knitted fabric with predetermined dimensions in the direction of its length and its width



July 17, 1962 PROCESS FOR PROVIDING A FINISHED KNITTED FABRIC WITH Filed Jan. 22, 1958 Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll l lnuwmununln All R. BRUNNER PREDETERMINED DIMENSIONS IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS LENGTH AND ITS WIDTH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 17, 1962 R. BRUNNER 3,044,142

PROCESS FOR PROVIDING A FINISHED KNITTED FABRIC wITH PREDETERMINED DIMENSIONS IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS LENGTH AND ITs wIDTH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 22, 1958 INVENTOR: I

zs Ania-l $511804 MIL-7 United States atent O 3,044,142 PROCESS FQR PROVIDING A FINISHED KNITTED FABRIC WETH PREDETERMINED DIMENSIONS IN THE ERECTION OF ITS LENGTH AND ITS WIDTH Robert Brunner, 165 Dachslernstrasse,

Zurich 9, Switzerland Filed Jan. 22, 1958, Ser. No. 710,549

Claims priority, application Switzerland Jan. 24, 1957 4 Claims. (Cl. 26-185) The present invention relates to a process for providing a shrink-proof knitted fabric. Y

More particularly, the present invention deals with the provision of such a fabric in tubular form. Thus, the tube of fabric may be provided from a circular knitting machine or from a fiat-bed machine with the sheet of fabric obtained from the machine sewn or otherwise joined together at its side edges so as to form a tube.

During the manufacture of a tubular fabric of this type, the fabric is necessarily stretched longitudinally during the treatment thereof, which includes washing, bleaching, dyeing, and the like. When the fabric is dried the loops thereof are fixed in an elongated condition which is longer than the length of the loops when they are unstressed, and the result is that when the finished fabric subsequently is washed in Warm water the loops become unstressed and decrease in length so as to result in undesirable shrinkage.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a fabric of the above type which is shrink-proof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a process which is capable of providing a shrink-proof fabric in an economical manner which even makes it feasible to treat relatively small batches of fabric.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a process which is capable of producing a shrinkproof fabric which is no more expensive than conventional fabrics.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing a shrink-proof fabric and capable of being incorporated into present-day known textile treating processes without any difficulty.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a process which is capable of treating the fabric in a continuous uninterrupted manner so as to render it shrink-proof.

With the above objects in view, the present invention includes in a process for providing a finished knitted fabric whose loops are of a predetermined size which will not change as a result of subsequent washing of the fabric, the steps of transversely stretching an unfinished knittedfabric whose loops are longer than the length of the loops of predetermined size until the length of the loops of the unfinished fabric become equal to the length of the loops of predetermined size, and then without changing the length of the loops permitting the fabric to contract transversely until the loops thereof have a width which is equal to the Width of the loops of predetermined size. Thereafter, Without changing the thus-provided length and width of the loops of unfinished fabric, the fabric is finished in a known way as by being fixed and then pressed.

The apparatus of the present invention which is capable of carrying out the above process includes a suitable form located in the tube of knitted fabric and along which the fabric is moved by a suitable moving means, the tube of fabric being expanded transversely by the form. This expansion in a transverse direction causes the loops of the knitted fabric to contract in a longitudinal direction, and immediately after the form are located a pair of band means which cooperate with each other to receive the tube of fabric from the form and to transport the fabric away from the form, the pair of band means holding the fabric so that the loops thereof cannot change their longitudinal dimensions. A means is provided at a portion of one of the band means for moving this portion thereof away from an opposite portion of the other of the band means and for holding the portion of the first band means at a predetermined distance from the opposite portion of the other band means so as to provide between the portions of the pair of band means, respectively, a gap of predetermined thickness through which the tube of fabric moves. In this gap the tube of fabric is capable of transversely contracting in a manner controlled by the adjusted thickness of the gap, and the control of the size of this gap is such that the tube contracts due to its own resiliency until the width of the loops of the knitted fabric have a Width which is of a predetermined size. Thereafter the fabric is fixed and finished."

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of one possible structure capable of carrying out the process of the present invention and constructed in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevational view of the structure of FIG. 1, the end bearings being omitted from FIG. 2 for the sake of clarity.

The structure of the present invention does not increase the cost of manufacturing the fabric because it replaces the conventional calendering structure. At the place where the conventional calendering structure would be located, the structure of the present invention is located, so that in this way there is no appreciable increase in the cost either of the apparatus or of the process for making the finished fabric of the present invention.

The structure of the invention includes several distinct assemblies which form different units of the entire organization. Thus, the structure includes the form 3 which serves as an expansion means for transversely expanding a tube of fabric in which the form 3 is located. The fabric is moved longitudinally along the form 3 by a suitable moving means. The fabric is received after it leaves the form 3 by a pair of band means 4 which continue the transportation of the fabric beyond the form.

Along the path through which the fabric is moved by the pair of band means 4 is located a fixing means 5 which treats the fabric with steam and fixes the fabric so that the dimensions of the loops thereof will not change, and a finishing means 6 in the form of rollers which press the fabric is located along the path of movement of the fabric after the fixing means 5. The arrangement of these assemblies with respect to each other is shown most clearly in FIG. 2. The entire structure is driven from a single electric motor 7.

The unfinished tube of knitted fabric 2 is located in a rotatable container i1 which has an open top. This container is turnable about a vertical axis. The finished fabric 9 passes, after leaving the finishing means 6 through a device 10 which turns back and forth as shown by the arrows at the upper left of FIG. 2 for'depositing the finished fabric 9 in layers connected together by folds in the fabric.

The form 3 which transversely stretches the tube of fabric is provided with a pair of structures 11 and 12 at its opposite sides, respectively, and these structures 11 and 1-2 are mirror images of each other. Each of these which extend between and interconnect the bars with each other for rotation of the pulleys about their axes, and a second pair of pulleys 17 and 18 are located respectively behind and are coaxial with the pulleys and 16 which are shown in FIG. 1. The arrangement of the pulleys 17 and-18 with respect to the pulleys 15 and 16 is indicated in FIG. 2. A third pair of pulleys 19 and are also located between each pair of bars 13 and are supported for rotation about their axes by pins which extend between and interconnect the bars, and the lower pulley L9 is located between and coaxial with the pulleys 16 and 18. The pulleys 19 and 29 are of a smaller diameter than the pulleys 1518. At the bottom or entrance end of the form the pair of bars 13 at each side of the form rotatably support a roller 21, while at the top or discharge end of the form the bars carry the members 22, respectively, which have outer side edges which cause, by their inclination, the form to converge to a limited extent toward the pair of band means 4, as is clearly evident from FIG. 1.

The pulleys 16, 18 and 19 are fixed to a common shaft 23 extending between each pair of bars 13, and the pulleys 15 and 16 cooperate with a belt 24, while the pulleys 17 and 18 cooperate with a belt 25, and the pulleys 19 and 20 cooperate with a belt 26. These belts 24-26 maybe made of rubber or plastic.v The pulleys 15-18 all have the same diameter which is larger than the diameter of the pulleys 19 and 20, as was pointed out above. Since the pulley 19 rotates at thesame angular speed as the pulleys 16 and '18, it is evident that the belt 26'has a linear speed which is less than the linear speed of the belts 24 and 25. Between each pair of bars 13 there is also located a roller 27 which cooperates with the belts 2'4 and in the manner shown most clearly in FIG. 1, and described below in connection with rollers 74 and 75, this roller 27 being freely rotatable on a shaft 28 which extends between and is fixed to the pair of bars 13.

The form further includes transverse bars 29 and 30 which carry the lateral elongated structures 11 and 12 and on which these structures are laterally shiftable for adjusting the width of the form 3, the structures 11 and 12 being fixed to the transverse bars 29 and 36 in any suitable way. Between the lateral structures 11 and 12, the bars 29 and 30 carry frame members 31, 32 and 33. The members 33 extend forwardly and rearwardly and interconnect the vertical frame members 31 and 32, and these frames serve to stretch the tube of fabric forwardly and rearwardly so that the fabric is uniformly stretched about its entire circumference asit moves along the form 3.

The pair of band means 4 includesthe cloth endless 4 be made of cotton or any other natural or synthetic fiber. Also, they may be made of metal strands.

Each of the bands 34 and 35 is provided at its side edges with eyes 76 in which springs 77 are hooked, and these springs 77 are hooked at their ends distant from the bands 34 and 35 to chains 78 and 79. These chains follow along the same paths as the pair of bands, respectively, and are only located laterally beyond the bands. Each of these chains 78 and '79 carries at its side edge which is directed toward the pair of hands a plurality of brackets 89 formed with holes into which the springs '77 are hooked. The chains '75 and '79 turn so as to move together with the bands 34 and 35 and these bands move at the same speed. Thus, the springs 77 guarantee that the fabric bands cannot laterally contract and remain smooth. The chains 78 and 79 are driven by sprocket wheels 82 and 83 which are located on a common shaft 81.

The drive is delivered to the apparatus of the invention from the motor 7 by a chain 59 to a sprocket wheel 51 which is mounted on a shaft 52' which carries a sprocket wheel 53 and a V-belt pulley 54. The sprocket wheel 53 continues the transmission from the sprocket wheel 51 through a chain 55 to the driving roll 36. Specifically, the chain 55 cooperates with a sprocket wheel 57 fixed to the same shaft which fixedly carries the driving roll 36, and a sprocket wheel 56 is provided for maintaining the tension in the chain 55.

The shaft 52 extends across the entire width of the machine and carries at its right end, as viewed in FIG. 1, the above-mentioned V-belt pulley 54. This pulley cooperates with a V-belt 58 to drive another V-belt pulley 59 which is fixed to a shaft 60 which is located in front of and parallel to the shaft 52. This shaft 60 fixedly carries a pinion 61 which meshes with a gear 62 which is fixedly carried by a shaft 63- so that in this way the latter shaft is driven. On the shaft '63 are located a pair of bevel gears 64 and 65 which are respectively located laterally beyond the form 3 and to the rear thereof. The hubs of the bevel gears 64 and 65 have projections extending into grooves which extend axially of the shaft 63, so that the longitudinal position of the bevel gears 64 and 65 on the shaft 63 can be adjusted, and any suitable collars or the like may be adjustably fixed to the shaft 63 for maintaining the bevel gears 64 and 65 at predetermined longitudinal positions along the shaft 63. Thus, the bevel gears 64 and 65 are driven by the shaft 63 since they are compelled to rotate therewith, and'these gears respectively mesh with a pair of additional bevel gears 66 and 67 whose axes are parallel to each other and respectively normal to the common axis of the bevel gears 64 and 65. The bevel gears 66 and 67 are respectively fixed to shafts 72 and 73 which extend from the bevel gears 66 and 67 forwardly to positions alongside of the form 3. The pair of bevel gears 66 and 67 are carried by a pair of carriers 68 and 69 which also engage the pair of bevel gears 64 and 65, respectively,

bands 34 and 35 which are driven bya common'dr'iving roll 36. The upper endless fabricband 34 runs over the rolls 37, 38 and 39 as well as over the pair of pressing rolls 42 and 43 of the finishing means 6. The upper band 34 is also engaged by guide rolls 40 and 441 for a purpose described below.

The lower band 35 is guided over the rolls 44 and 47 as well as the pair of pressing rolls 45 and 46 of the finishing means 6. Thus, the rolls 42 and 45 form one pair of cooperating pressing rolls while the rolls 43 and 46 resist the movement of air through the hands. They can so that the latter pair of bevel gears are maintained in mesh with the gears 66 and 67, and the carriers 68 and 69 are laterally shiftable along the transverse rods 70 and 71 which are located behind the form 3, and any suitable set screws or the like may be provided for fixing the carriers 68 and 69 in an adjusted position on the transverse bars 70 and 71. The front ends of the shafts 72 and 73 which are rotatably supported by the carriers 68 and 69 respectively fixedly carry drive rolls 74and 75 which respectively press against the belts 24 and 25 at each side of the form 3. The rollers 74, 75 extend partway into the space between the rollers 27 and the pulleys 16, 18 and 19 thereabove at each side or the form 3, so that the rollers 74, 75 transmit the drive frictionally to the belts 2 4 and 25 at each side of the form 3, and furthermore the entire form 3 which forms a unit completely separate from all of the other structure .is supported by the driving rolls 74 and 75.

The above-described structure operates as follows: The tube of fabric which is located in the rotatable container 1 has been wet and subsequently dried before being placed in the container 1. The tube of. unfinished fabric 2 is stretched over the form 3 which is located within the tube 2, and in this way the tube of knitted fabric is transversely stretched so that its cross sectional area increases. In this way the length of the loops becomes shorter and their width increases.

The loops of the yarn of the knitted fabric have a predetermined length when the yarn is unstressed, and if the loops of the finished fabric have the same length then the fabric will not shrink because there will be no stresses to relieve and no change in the length of the loops when the finished fabric is subsequently washed. The form 3 has such a size that the transverse stretching of the tube of fabric on the form 3 results in a reduction of the length of the loops to a length which the loops have when the yarn is unstressed. Thus, the loops are provided with the proper length by the expansion means 3. It will be noted, however, that the width of the loops is greater than the width which the loops have when the yarn is unstressed as a result of the expansion provided by the form 3. The tube moves along both of the lateral structures 11 and 12 of the form 3 between these lateral structures and the driving rolls 74 and 75, and the distance between the lateral structures 11 and 12 is adjusted to provide the desired transverse stretching of the tube while it moves longitudinally along the form 3. The tube of fabric engages the rollers 21 and extends along the outer runs of the belts 24 and 25 between the latter and the driving rolls 74 and 75, so that these belts and the pulleys which drive the same as well as the driving rolls 74 and 75 form a moving means which moves the fabric longitudinally along the expansion means 3. As was pointed out above, lateral stretching of the fabric results in a shortening of the length of the loops thereof, and in order to guarantee that this shortening of the loops takes place also at the sides of the tube 2 which engage the belts 24 and 25, the belts 26 are moved at a different speed than the belts 24 and 25 in the manner described above. In this way the length of all of the. loops is adjusted to the proper size. The lateral positions of the carriers 68 and 69 control the pressure with which the driving rolls 74 and 75 press the fabric against the belts 24 and 25 which are driven by the rolls 74 and 75 frictionally through the fabric itself. As was pointed out above, the frames 31 and 32 which extend forwardly and rearwardly guarantee a uniform lateral expansion of the tube around the entire circumference thereof. The frames 31-33 diverge upwardly from their bottom ends and then converge as they approach their top extremities, as is evident from FIG. 2.. Thus, as the fabric approaches the top end of the form 3 the lateral expansion thereof is reduced. This effect is also provided by the head members 22 carried at the top ends of the structures 11 and 12, respectively, which converge to a limited degree toward the top extremity of the form 3. Thus, the stretched tube of unfinished fabric due to its own inherent resiliency contracts itself at the top end portion of the form 3 to provide an automatic movement of the fabric from the form 3.

If all of the transverse expansion of the tube of fabric were released at the top of the form 3 then the loops would resume their original size and nothing would be accomplished. Thus, the carefully controlled length provided in the loops by the transverse stretching produced by the form 3 must be maintained when the fabric leaves the form 3, and for this purpose the fabric is immediately gripped by the pair of band means 4 as soon as the fabric reaches the top end of the form 3, as is particularly evident from FIG. 2. The bands 34 and 35 grip the fabric and continue the longitudinal transportation thereof without, however, pulling the fabric from the form 3. This effect is achieved by carefully controlling the speed with which the bands 34 and 35 are driven. The fabric which leaves the form'3 is nipped on the one hand between the rolls 37 and 44, which is to say, between the bands 34 and 35 at the points where the latter engage the rolls 37 and 44, respectively, and on the other hand between-the bands 34 and 35 at the point where the band 35- presses against the common driving roll 36, so that between the rolls 37 and 44, on the one hand, and the roll 36, on the other hand, the length of the loops and of the fabric between these rolls cannot change. In this way the longitudinal dimension of the loops is maintained.

A portion of the bands 34 and 35 located between the roll 36, on the one hand, and the rolls 37 and 44, on the other hand, pass between plates 84 and 85. The lower plate may be stationary and the lower band 35 slides along the upper face thereof. The upper plate 84, however, is supported by a suitable structure in such a way that it is capable of being moved toward and away from the portion of the band 34 between the rolls 37 and 36 in a direction which is perpendicular to this portion of the band, so that the space between the plates 84 and 8 can be adjusted.

The upper band 34 is wider than the lower band 35 and has side edge portions extending beyond the lower band 35, and these side edge portions are each engaged by pairs of rollers 40 and 41 to be urged thereby against the upper guide plate 84. These rollers 41 and 40 guarantee that the upper band 34 is maintained in engage ment with the downwardly directed surface of the plate 84, so that by adjusting the position of the latter the gap between the portions of the bands 34 and 35 which pass between the plates 84 and 85 may be adjusted.

As was pointed out above, the length of the tube of fabric cannot change between the rolls 36 and 37, 44 so that the length of the loops of the fabric are maintained at the regulated desired length. However, by providing the gap between the bands as they pass through the plates 84 and 85 with a suitable thickness a controlled release of the lateral expansion of the fabric is provided in the gap between the bands, and this controlled release is regulated by adjustment of the plate 84 so as guarantee that the fabric contracts transversely until the'loops of the knitted fabric have a width which is equal to the width of the loops in the unstressed condition of the yarn. The greater the distance between the plates 84 and 85 the more the fabric is capable of transversely contracting.

Thus, as the tube of fabric moves to the left beyond the common driving roll 36, as is viewed in FIG. 2, the loops of the fabric will have the condition in which they will not shrink due to further washing after the loops are fixed in this condition. Thus, by fixing the fabric in the condition it has when leaving the roll 36, the fabric will be fixed in a shrink-proof state. Immediately after leaving the roll 36 the fabric passes through the fixing means 5 where hot steam is sprayed onto the fabric from the tubes 49 and in which the fabric is fixed in a known way. Thereafter, while the fabric is still located between the bands 34 and 35 it passes with these bands between the pairs of pressing rolls 42, 45 and 43, 46 which provide the fabric with a glossy, smooth finish, and thereafter the band 34 passes around the roll 43 back toward the roll 42, while the band 35 continues to the roll 47 to carry the fabric which is now finished to this roll 47 from which the fabric passes through the device 10 which swings back and forth for depositing the finished fabric 9 in the layers shown in the left of FIG. 2.

Thus, the process of the present invention provides a shrink-proof fabric in a single continuous operation.

With certain types of textiles it may be advisable to steam the fabric in its transversely expanded condition before it enters into the bands 34 and 35.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of process and apparatus for providing a shrink-proof fabric differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in process and apparatus for providing a shrinkproof fabric in one operation, it is not intended to be limited to the details showmsince various modifications and structural changes maybe made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint-of prior art, fairly constitute essential char acteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent 1. A process for providing a finished knitted tubular fabric with loops of a predetermined size which will not change during subsequent washing of the fabric so that the fabric is shrink-proof, comprising the steps of transversely expanding an elongated tube of knitted unfinished fabric whose loops are longer than the length of said loops of predetermined size until the length of the loops of the unfinished fabric is reduced to the length of the loops of predetermined size, then, while maintaining the length of the loops at the length of the loops of predetermined size, releasing the fabric from the transverse tension applied thereto so that it contracts in a transverse direction and limiting the contraction until the loops have a width equal to the width of the loops of predetermined size; and then finishing the fabric while maintaining its loops at the length and width equal to the length and width of the loops of predetermined size.

2. A process for providing a finished knitted tubular fabric with loops ofa predetermined size which will not change during subsequent washing of the fabric so that the fabric is shrink-proof, comprising the steps of continuously transporting an elongated tube of unfinished knitted fabric whose loops have a length longer than the lengths of the loops of predetermined'size from a given starting position to a given end posit-ion; expanding the transverse cross sectional area of the tube of'unfinished fabric while it is being transported until the length of the loops of the unfinished fabric is equal to the length of the loopsof predetermined size; then, while maintaining the length of the loops of the unfinished fabric at said length of the loops of predetermined size and while still transporting the fabric, releasing the transverse tension in the fabric until the loops thereof have awidth equal to the width of the loops of predetermined size; and

finally while maintaining theloops of the fabric at said length and width equal :to the length and width of the loops of predetermined size and while still continuing the transportation of the fabric, finishing the fabric so that the finished fabric will retain said loops of said predetermined size.

3. Process for providing a finished knitted fabric with loops of a predetermined size having a predetermined length and width which will not change during subsequent washing of the fabric so that the fabric is shrink-proof, com-prising the steps of transversely tensioning and thereby expanding an elongated knitted unfinished fabric whose loops are longer than said predetermined length of the loops of predetermined size until the length of the loops of the unfinished fabric is reduced to said predetermined length of the loops of predetermined size while the width of said loops is increased beyond said predetermined width' of said loops of predetermined size; thenwhile maintaining the length of-the loops at said predetermined length of the loops of predetermined size-releasing the fabric from the transversal tension applied thereto so that it contracts in a transverse direction and terminating the contraction when the loops have a width equal to said predetermined width of the loops of prede termined size; and then finishing the fabric while maintaining its loops at said thus attained length and width equal to said predetermined length and width of the loops of predetermined size.

4. Process according to claim 3 comprising also the steps of continuously transporting the knitted fabric along a predetermined path while subjecting said knitted fabric to said steps of transversely tensioning, releasing and finishing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,325,545 Redman July 27, 1943 2,581,018 Hatay Jan. 1, 1952 2,583,630 Chatfield Jan. 29, 1952 2,588,624 Evans Mar. 11, 1952 2,589,345 Cohn et a1. Mar. 18, 1952 2,661,520 Hamilton et a1. Dec. 8, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 203,764 Great Britain Sept. 10, 1923 626,336 Great Britain July 13, 1949 m... to... 

